Before They Were Famous

Moneybagg Yo is an American rapper and songwriter who has quickly emerged as one of the top artists to emanate out of Memphis, Tennessee. After releasing a string of highly successful mixtapes early on in his career, he caught the ear of Yo Gotti and signed to the man’s Collective Music Group in 2016. And while that might have been 2016 Moneybagg Yo with “only” a few hundred thousand dollars in his bank account felt, these days, Moneybagg’s well... bag, is much deeper -- and he wants the entire world to know. Sure, bragging about making millions during the course of a pandemic probably isn’t the humblest thing in the world a man can do, but one thing’s for sure, he ain’t lying. Current estimates peg Moneybagg’s net worth to be in the $4 Million range, and as best I can tell, he’s spending the majority of those greenbacks on the people closest to him, like his daughters and niece who he recently went on a wild Valentine’s Day spending spree with. And like most intelligent investors these days, Moneybagg has recently diversified his portfolio, teaming up with his mentor Yo Gotti to invest in some prime real estate deals that should pay off like gangbusters in the long run.

Adin Ross has made quite the career for himself as a video game streamer who specializes in both NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto gameplay videos in which he’s collecting hundreds of thousands of views on the reg. Before blowing up and becoming one of the most infamous gamers around, Adin Ross could be found regularly in 2K’s MyPark mode, but these days, he’s rubbing shoulders in real life with some of the very best to ever play, striking up a fast friendship with LeBron James’ son, Bronny Jr. Overtime though, Adin has moved away from 2K gameplay, concentrating more and more on GTA and connecting regularly with his fans in the “Just Chatting” section of the Twitch platform. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, what say we take a look back at Adin’s come-up and find out how a twenty-year-old kid managed to accomplish so much with little more than the support of his loving sister.

Ever since 2015, Einer Bankz has been strumming along on four strings while convincing some of the biggest emcees and singers in North America to collaborate with him in social media posts of acoustic melodies that all go wildly viral. Only a handful of years into his career, Einer’s already worked with hundreds of artists, sometimes meeting them at some truly random locations like 7-Elevens, trap houses, and public parks – but no matter where he is, he always manages to record some of the most memorable performances you’ve ever seen. It’s probably the last place this native of San Francisco thought he’d wind up in his career, but it’s kind of hard to know for sure, what with how cagey he likes to be about his past. Over the years, Einer has given very few interviews and likes to keep his come-up something of a secret. But today, I’ve dug deep into his past to tell you all about how he came to be one of the world’s most famous Ukulele producers – if not the world’s only.

Ever since his blue-collar days, working as a plumber in Ireland and living on social assistance, Conor McGregor has believed that he’s been destined for greatness. Betting on himself, he quit his apprenticeship to enter the world of combat sports, and ever since he’s skyrocketed to the top, becoming a lucrative star and manifesting for himself a rags-to-riches story unlike any other. Recent estimates from Forbes’ richest athletes of 2020 list pegs Conor’s net-worth at a remarkable $48 Million where he ranks 53rd on the Forbes Top 100 Celebrities and 16th overall on the Highest-Paid Athletes list. When you’re making that type of bank, you don’t think twice when it comes to laying down a cool Million on Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Baguette – one of the glitziest wrist-watches you’ve ever seen. And you also know how to treat yourself to the type of yacht that most people can only dream about – like a Lamborghini 63 worth $3.9 Million.

In a world where the gangster-rap lifestyle has been celebrated and championed by our culture and where five-year-olds can often be found gracing the covers of magazines, Lil Tay, well, she was the logical next step, wasn’t she? At her hey-day, Lil Tay was pulling in close to 2.5 million followers on her verified Instagram account, at a time when this young Chinese-Canadian was still only just 9-years-old! Yet here she was, dropping generic rap tracks and flexin’ on all of us, all for love of the Gram. Naming herself “the youngest flexer of the century”, Lil Tay has been described by others as everything from “a larger-than-life caricature” to a “badass Dora the Explorer” come to life. In fact, Lil Tay’s star eventually climbed so high that she was spending time with other celebs like Lil Pump, Jake Paul, and even getting entangled in her own rap beef with Bhad Bhabie. But the real question is: where is Lil Tay today? Her social media profiles have been dormant for more or less two years now. So, what happened? And could she be making a comeback anytime soon? Today, I’m going to let you know.

Just a couple years ago, it seemed like Soulja Boy was poised to reintroduce himself to the mass public. Sure, he had had his 15-minutes of fame in the late 2000s after dropping one of the world’s very first viral tracks in “Crank That”, but after its release, his career, well, it kind of fizzled more than it cranked. Many people had him pegged as a one-hit-wonder, but then, almost ten years after he first made a name for himself, he returned in a big way with some bat-sh*t crazy tech ideas to create his own line of SouljaGame Consoles… that is until Nintendo threatened him with a lawsuit and Soulja had to pull his consoles in 2019. Only a few months after that, he was sent to jail for violating probation. Now, Soulja is once more a free man and looking to kick start his career with some ingenious and totally out-of-left-field ideas that include hyping up dish soap. Yeah, you heard me right, dish soap, and today I’m going to tell you all about it.

When it comes to viral sensations and internet memes, we’re certainly in no fear of ever running out, but one of the OG’s at the game is a man named Welven Da Great, otherwise known as the “Deez Nuts” guy. For a pretty steady run there in the middle of the last decade, you couldn’t fire up your computer without seeing at the very least one picture of this guy with some new phrase or meme attached to it. I don’t know if I’d exactly call it the peak of online comedy, but man was it ever prevalent. Then -- almost as quickly as he arrived, Welven Da Great disappeared – and I mean, with a name that sounds like something a Magician cooked up, how surprised can we be really that he pulled a disappearing act? Only, he didn’t drop off the face of the Earth, at least, not completely. Recently, videos have begun making the rounds that have found Welven in some increasingly distressing situations that have his fans worrying about his safety. Are these concerns warranted? Today, you’re going to find out for yourselves.

On the BRIGHT SIDE OF FAME – EDP445 is one of the most popular NFL vloggers on YouTube and is best known for his hot and heavy Philadelphia Eagle takes that almost never manage to be in good taste but have still earned him hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram while having just over 2 Million subscribers on YouTube as well. On the DARK SIDE OF FAME is a different story altogether and it seems like EDP’s run as one of the preeminent YouTube personalities is about to come to an end. After all, this guy has managed to go from someone that got fired from his local Wal-Mart to having his YouTube account constantly suspended for inappropriate content, to finally having his entire future thrown into question after recent accusations. So how did EDP arrive at this, the lowest point of his life? Well, you’re about to find out.

The massive success of Grime rappers, Pete & Bas, both of whom are pushing past the 7-decade mark. These two grandads have already managed to notch up millions upon millions views on YouTube, with their biggest hit songs seeing these two loveable enigmas spitting witty lyrics over some authentically raw beats. Over a relatively short span of time, Pete & Bas have proven to be a revelation to the music industry, but they’re also extremely secretive about their past. Throughout the course of their careers, they’ve suggested various backstories to how they came to work together, as well as dropped hints about their former, less than straight-and-narrow, early lives -- so we’ve reached out to them for some insider details to help put together as much of their remarkable story as possible.

Nicknamed "The Serpent" Charles Sobhraj was convicted and jailed in India from 1976 to 1997 but managed to live a life of leisure even while in prison. After his release, he retired as a celebrity in Paris, and witch Hollywood interested in making a movie about his life the dude could have gotten away with it all until he decided to take a trip back to Nepal. While Sobhraj is widely believed to be a psychopath — a man with a manipulative personality and incapable of remorse — his motives for crimes differed from those of most criminals. He wasn't driven to do what he does by impulses, but rather for personal gain, to sustain his status, his lifestyle, and to pursue his next adventures. His life has already been the object of four books and three documentaries and the recent Netflix special had me & Michael glued to our seats. So we decided to take a look at his life and career here for you in a video we have titled Before They Were Infamous.